Grand Bahia Principe Punta Cana

We are still at the hotel have been here in the past and always found the Bahia chain to be good. This is the first review I have ever left but after talking to reception staff and guest services who agreed to the issues we had but said there is nothing they can do and getting an email from Bahia Principe to leave our opinions I felt we should share what we found. The hotel is becoming rather tired looking and food in main restaurants although a large choice is very bland and poor quality typical of a 3 star standard. Rooms very dated and smell damp. We was moved from first room to another but still the same issues. Some staff are friendly some not. Drinks overall not very good again 3 star standards. Pool areas have an unclean feel to them with tatty sun beds. Hard to get reservations for themed restaurants but the food is better in these. There are new Bahia hotels next door and It makes you wonder if they are getting more attention and the older hotels getting left behind. On a positive note the beach and garden areas are stunning although again poor sun beds compared to new hotel sections. To sum up I would say it’s a tired 3 star ai hotel and and better hotels to be had. I’m gutted to say but we would not return here.

We returned from this resort in late May of this year, let me just start off by saying i'm very easy going and i don't complain very often. But i left this place pissed off and never wanting to return to the Dominican Republic ever again, and i won't. First off, I was informed you could request which building you wanted to be in, so two weeks before going i wrote an email requesting to be as close as possible to the beach, even if it wasn't the building i wanted, just one of the many buildings closer to the beach. When we arrived, we were placed as far away from the beach as possible, I continued to ask if I could upgrade and would even pay to upgrade, then enters the language barrier and their zero craps given about the people staying there. No upgrade, and nobody gave a crap either. moving on... Don't expect room service, we stayed there 10-days and they didn't even once restock the beer fridge, not to mention there was only 2 beers and a couple soft drinks to begin with, either way, 0 restocks in 10-days is inexcusable. The bed was made and tucked under the bed a couple times, pulling out the sheets you get a black smear of the dirt under the mattress...gross. There is a 20 foot radius around the Bavaro buffet that smelt absolutely horrid! I literally had to hold my breathe entering the buffet every single day, it's horrible and ruins your appetite, I'm pretty sure its sewage. Pool bars close at 5:30, basically the peak of people being in the pools and having drinks and fun... buzz kill central, everyday. Speaking of bars, you're lucky if you get a bar tender who mixes your drink rather than just pouring the rum on top of the mix, you either have to mix it with your finger yourself or get used to a couple of shots before you drink the mix, shear laziness. Continuing on about the bars, unless you're a female don't expect to be served until all the females have been served. Keep your tips in your pocket, i started out tipping well but it didn't change a thing, keep your money for something useful. The peddlers were out of control in the area by the disco, as well as on the beach, its non stop and they ruin being on the beach with how frequently they're approaching you. Don't let them put any animals on your shoulder, you will be charged $10. Lastly, thieves are everywhere, we had a phone stolen, a wallet stolen, a beach towel stolen and a souvenir stolen. Safe seems to work well, but can't leave anything on your beach chairs while swimming in the ocean. The Positives The beach is as amazing as the pictures make it look, some sea weed but nothing unreasonable. Beach volleyball seemed to draw people out all the time which was always a good time. The a la cartes were very well done, we did garden grill, las olas, maiko and tex mex. Really good food with a buffet before and after if you didn't get enough. The grounds were very well kept, The trolleys seem to be efficient in what they do. The beach snack bar is amazing after a night of drinking The Karaoke bar beside the disco was always a fun time. All in all, i will never be back to the DR as i said earlier, the people barely speak any English on the resort, the people in general don't care one bit about you, if they found you dead they'd empty your pockets and walk away. The excursions were a mess with full day excursions being the majority of it being travel. I just left the resort and the country with a horrible taste in my mouth, i wish i could go back in time and book somewhere else.

I have never written a review before but this time, i just had to! Where to start? My family and i (a group of 10 people) arrive at the hotel around 3:10pm. We are the only ones at the lobby doing our check-in, but apparently the operating system is from the 60s so it took us until 4:40pm to get our check-in completed. We run to the pool to take advantage of the sunny day, only to find that the alcohol is NASTY (i would only recommend you to drink tap beer, safe play)and the waiters are the worst. By 5:30pm the bar is closed and they start kicking you out from the pool for maintenance (wtf?). We go back to our room (building 10, room 303 to be specific) only to find that the air conditioning SUCKS and 4 cockroaches enjoying our bed: YES, our bed. Immediately grabbed all our bags and headed straight to the lobby to get our rooms changed. We were sent to building 9 (room 312 specifically) were i have been calling maintenance because the air conditioner doesn’t work- Yes you read right: i am stuck in this crappy- old fashioned- hot AF- stinky room; reason for me writing a review for the first time EVER. I would recommend you to pay a little more for a modern- safe option. This hotel is NOT WORTH A SINGLE PENNY. Run.